Briallen Emeraldleaf
The younger twin sister of Seren Emeraldleaf, Braillen spent the first eleven years of her life not even knowing who she really was. It was during the evacuation of Linwood that Briallen learned that she was the daughter of Ash Emeraldleaf. Andraste, the Emeraldleaf family's maid, had claimed to be her mother, and had stayed behind in Linwood during the evacuation that followed the invasion of Bhimar's army. Briallen spent much of her time feeling lost, at that point, and rarely spoke to anyone, though Ash, Adamina, and Seren all tried to bond with her. She finally began to bond with her father, however, in Yewsel, when she encountered and was entrusted with the care of an injured meadowlark. Ash had experience with birds and helped her to build a nest for the little bird that Briallen named Eirian. Briallen expressed her doubts about the existence of true love to her father. Her words triggered something in him, and he took her to Agrona, who found and removed the spells that had been placed on both of them, as well as Adamina and Seren. Andraste had actually kidnapped Briallen when she and Seren were born, taking advantage of both Ash being at court and Enid being sick, herself. Andraste had then hidden Briallen away for six months and used spells to make her appear six months younger than she really was. Feeling less lost and better connected to her family with the truth now known, Briallen decided that she might want to follow in her father's footsteps on the council. Toward that end, she began speaking with the other members of the council, asking them for advice. It was during her discussion with Torin Moonhaze that she learned that he had aided in her kidnapping and hiding, and that he was the one who had named her out of the belief that she was the reincarnated form of his dead fiancee. Two years after the Battle of Hearts, Briallen attended her first real ball, one celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Queen Tesni's reign. While there, she met Treasach Swiftfoot, whose family was in a feud with Torin's. Treasach told her about the Royal Academy in Oak Dale, and Briallen decided that she wanted to go. At the Academy, Briallen studied hard. She took Seosan, knowing it would one day come in handy, both because Princess Nia and her husband spoke it fluently and also because Seren was now betrothed to Tesni's son, Eogan, who now sat on Seos' throne. In addition to subjects that everyone took, she also studied dueling and falconry. It was in this last class that she bonded with a kite named Storm. She also spent time helping Treasach's sister, Jocosa, with her forbidden romance with Torin's cousin, Ramsay. As Briallen grew into womanhood, she found herself drawing the attentions, and random gifts from, various young men at the Academy. Chief among these were Treasach and his cousin, Alwyn. She had no desire to be courted by any of the young men she met, though. In the winter of her last year of schooling, Briallen was kidnapped just before her eighteenth birthday. She was taken to a kingdom called Tuscole that was far to the east. There, the king, Gugliamo, forced her into marriage with his son, Cassius. Braillen was not the only one who had been kidnapped, however. Tesni had also been brought there. In addition, Briallen found Ceinwen, her father's older sister, who had disappeared when Ash was but a baby. With the help of Ceinwen and her husband, Renzo, Tesni and Briallen escaped to the shore, where they were met by Ceinwen and Renzo's son, Hephaestus. He took them all to an island across the bay, where they also met a group called the Ganzorig, led by a pair of sisters, Eleni and Vittoria. The night after they arrived, Hephaestus and Vittoria were married. It was in the middle of the feast that Briallen's parents and sister, along with Finn, the Shadow Guard, and two Shadow Walkers from Seos, Nasrin and Adir, arrived. Briallen was thrilled to see her family and her friend Nasrin. With them also was Treasach, who had brought Storm. Later that evening, another newcomer arrived. It was Ibai, the son of the true king and queen of Tuscole, and Cassius's half-brother. Ibai had bad news, that Gugliamo was dead, and Cassius had taken the throne for himself, demanding Briallen's return. The next morning, Briallen thought to leave on her own, in order to save her family and friends, but Seren woke up in time to leave with her, leaving behind a note. The girls went back to the palace and, once dressed, joined Cassius for dinner that evening. Also joining them was Rhys, Cassius's cousin and, it turned out, Ash and Ceinwen's much older half-brother. Rhys had arranged all of it, and planned to force Tesni into marriage. Ash and Adamina arrived next, appearing for all the world as if they had merely come for the wedding feast. Partway through dinner, though, Ibai arrived, along with the others. The battle lasted only a short time and ended when Ibai beheaded Cassius. Tesni was speaking to Cassius about taking Rhys back to Linwood for questioning when Briallen jumped between Rhys and Tesni, taking the blade meant for her queen. After Briallen recovered, the group returned to Linwood, where Tesni and Gareth were married and Seren was awarded her bow and, with it, full status as a Ranger. It was also during this celebration that Briallen decided that she needed to find out the truth of things. She drew Torin aside and kissed him. It was all they needed to know that, whether Briallen was reincarnated or not, Briallen and Torin were meant for each other. Briallen then proceeded to finish her final year at the academy before going to Seos that summer for Seren's marriage to Eogan. During this time, they also befriended Zaida, Rhys's illegitimate daughter who sought to be queen, herself. A few years later, Briallen married Torin. Category:Nobles Category:Linwood Category:Wood Elves